A worker is being treated at Foothills Hospital in Calgary for serious injuries suffered when a piece of equipment he was using blew apart late Tuesday afternoon.

The unidentified worker, a 35-year-old male, was operating an angle grinder at IP Fabrications Ltd. in the Chiles Industrial Park, immediately north of Red Deer, when the grinding wheel failed, said Chris Chodan, a spokesman for Alberta Employment and Immigration in Edmonton.

Several pieces of the wheel struck the worker, but the extent of his injuries is not known, Chodan said on Wednesday.

A stop-work order was issued for an undetermined amount of time while officers from Occupational Health and Safety investigate the incident, he said.

Members of the RCMP Red Deer Rural detachment are assisting in the investigation. The incident is not considered suspicious, said Cpl. Terry Best.

The worker’s name has not been released at his family’s request, said Best.